School mill levy holds steady

A budget will be presented to the Newton board of education tonight — one which will contain cuts and rearranged line items, but not a proposed mill levy increase.

Chad Frey

A budget will be presented to the Newton board of education tonight — one which will contain cuts and rearranged line items, but not a proposed mill levy increase.
“The district is in good financial shape,” said superintendent of schools Deborah Hamm. “Our board of education is very aware of school funding issues and the issues of taxing property owners in our community.”
The estimated mill levy contained in the budget proposal is 57.057 — down a from the 2011-12 levy of 57.073. The mill levy is the tax rate that is applied to the assessed value of a property. One mill is one dollar per $1,000 dollars of assessed value.
The levy will be calculated by the county clerk’s office — the clerk’s office will calculate exactly how much the district will raise based on property tax evaluations and set the final levy based on the budget.
The 2012-13 budget contains $59.1 million in projected expenditures. Last year the district spent $55.753 million.
“Our budget anticipates an increase of 50 students,” Hamm said. “It’s important to note the people will get taxed only for what we actually spend.”
The board will review the budget tonight, and has scheduled a public hearing for the budget Aug. 13. A full, legal budget summary will be published in The Newton Kansan prior to passage.
Hamm said budget reductions considered by the board during the spring semester are reflected in the proposed budget, as well as the negotiated contract between the district and the National Educator’s Association.
And the budget is subject to change —with taxation changes in Topeka, there could be changes handed down from the state level.
“The budget presented to the board and published in the paper will reflect the understanding of what the legislature has passed,” Hamm said. “It is possible the state will ask us for cuts after the school year has started.”